Chapter 184

Chapter 184
Rainey's POV

"Is this really necessary, Ava?" I mumbled, my voice flat and lifeless. "I'm not in the mood... It's just dinner with everyone. We don't need to make such a big deal out of it."

Ava snatched my phone in one swift motion and stuffed it into her pocket. Then she gripped my shoulders, forcing me to face the mirror on my desk. "Even if it's just dinner, you're going to be the most beautiful birthday girl there! Now sit still and trust my skills." She paused, her expression softening slightly. "And even if that asshole Sunny really is stupid enough to stand you up, you need to look so stunning that when he sees you tomorrow, he'll be beating himself up all day long."

I wanted to argue, but exhaustion weighed me down like a wet blanket. The past few weeks had been brutal—endless hours of studying, mock trials, papers—and now this gnawing anxiety that had been eating at me since last night. When Ava's makeup brush touched my skin, soft and gentle, and her warm fingertips traced my jawline with practiced care, my eyelids grew impossibly heavy.

The tension in my shoulders slowly released. My breathing deepened.

And before I knew it, I was gone.

---

"Sweetheart. Sleeping beauty. Wake up. Time to change."

Ava's voice was close, laced with barely suppressed laughter. I blinked my eyes open groggily, momentarily disoriented. The room was quieter now—Chole and Lily were gone.

"Hm? Change?" I rubbed my eyes, still foggy. "Aren't we just going to a restaurant?"

"Of course we're changing!" Ava grinned. "Ava and Lily already got dressed and went ahead to grab us the best table. They're waiting for us to make our grand entrance." She stepped back, hands on her hips, and gave me a once-over with a mischievous glint in her eye.

Then she leaned in close, nudging me with her elbow, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "Hey, Rainey. I gotta ask—did you secretly... upgrade?" She made an exaggerated gesture toward my chest. "I swear you didn't have this much going on before."

My face exploded in heat. I immediately crossed my arms over my chest, my eyes darting away. "I don't know..." I mumbled. "They just... grew on their own..."

Ava threw her head back and laughed. "Oh my God, life is so unfair! Why do you get the brains and the body? Leave some for the rest of us mere mortals!"

Despite my embarrassment, the corner of my mouth twitched upward.

---

Ava disappeared for a moment and returned carrying a delicate gift box from the bed. She lifted the lid with a flourish, revealing a white dress inside. It was beautiful—simple but elegant, made of smooth satin that caught the light with a soft sheen.

"Ta-da!" Ava held it up against me, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "Look at this! We're wearing this tonight!"

I stared at the dress, momentarily distracted from my worries. "Ava... where did this come from? It looks expensive."

"It's from all three of us—me, Ava, and Lily," Ava said proudly. "Your twentieth birthday present. Now go try it on!"

Under Ava's expectant gaze, I slipped into the bathroom and changed. When I stepped out and caught sight of myself in the mirror, I froze.

The girl staring back looked... different. The makeup Ava had done was subtle but striking, and the dress made me look grown-up in a way I wasn't used to. For a fleeting second, I barely recognized myself.

"Holy shit, Rainey." Ava circled me slowly, her hands clasped over her heart. "You look like an actual angel. I'm serious—if I were a guy, I'd propose right now."

She grabbed a comb and gently gathered my chestnut hair, twisting it up into an elegant updo and securing it with a delicate crystal-studded clip. Then she stepped back, admiring her work with satisfaction.

"Perfect. Absolutely perfect." She clapped her hands together. "Come on, my gorgeous birthday girl. Let's go!"

We left the dorm building, the cool evening air brushing against my skin. But instead of heading toward the brightly lit dining hall, Ava tugged me in the opposite direction—toward the wide, open lawn in the center of campus.

I stopped walking. "Ava, shouldn't we be meeting Ava and the others? The restaurant's that way."

Ava turned around, a mysterious smile playing on her lips. She pulled a soft white silk scarf from her pocket and dangled it in front of me. "What's the rush? You really think we're not going to give you a real surprise?"

Before I could respond, she gently wrapped the scarf around my eyes, tying it loosely at the back of my head.

"Don't be scared," she murmured. "Trust me."

She took my hand and guided me forward. "Just follow me. One step at a time. I've got you."

I stumbled a few times—the heels I was wearing felt foreign, and the grass was damp and uneven from the earlier rain. Each time I nearly fell, Ava's arm shot out to steady me.

"Almost there," she said softly.

And then, suddenly, her hand was gone.

I stood alone in the darkness, the blindfold still covering my eyes. The sounds around me had changed—no more footsteps, no more Ava's reassuring voice. Just the wind and the distant rustle of leaves.

"Ava?" I called out tentatively, reaching forward into the empty air. "Where did you go?"

No answer.

My heart began to race. I hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached up and untied the scarf, letting it slip from my fingers and fall to the ground.

When I opened my eyes, I gasped.

The entire lawn had transformed into a sea of flowers. Pale pink roses—hundreds, maybe thousands of them—stretched out in every direction, forming a perfect, enormous heart shape. And I was standing right in the center.

Before I could fully process what I was seeing, several powerful spotlights flicked on from the edges of the lawn, their beams converging on me. The sudden brightness made me squint, but through the glare, I could make out a tall, slender figure in the distance.

My breath caught.

Sunny.

The lights softened, and I could finally see him clearly.

He was sitting at a white grand piano in the middle of the flower field, dressed in a perfectly tailored white suit. This wasn't the Sunny I knew—the one who always wore dark hoodies and baseball caps, who kept his distance from the world. This was someone else entirely.

Then his fingers moved to the keys.

The first notes rang out, I recognized the melody immediately.

Then Sunny began to sing along while playing piano.

"...My whole world changed,"

"from the moment I met you,"

"and it would never be the same,"

"felt like I knew that I'd always loved you,"

When he reached the climax of the song, his voice grew stronger, more urgent:

"...I will stand by you, till death do us part."

"I wanna hear you say I do."